Sri Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board of Trustees was felicitated by various NRI Telugu organizations and institutions in a grand scale at the conclusion of the three-day Brahmotsavam performed in Dallas, Texas. Many prominent people from Dallas and other cities, representatives of TANA, ATA and Sri Venkateswara University NRI Alumni Association have participated in a dinner program hosted by Dr. Sridhar Reddy Korsapati, President-Elect of Telugu Association of North Texas (TANTEX) and extended their warm welcome to Sri Karunakar Reddy.

Before joining the dinner program, Sri Karunakar Reddy visited the Swami Narayan temple on the invitation of the temple trust and offered his prayers. He commended the service activities taken up by the temple and said TTD will soon plan to construct a temple on Tirumala hills with the statues of great vaggeyakaras like Annamayya, Tyagaraju and Kshetrayya in the model of Swami Narayan temple.

At the dinner venue, Sri Karunakar Reddy was welcomed with lights and flower bouquets by young kids Sweta, Sujana, Sannihit, Sivahit, Pranay, Lahari and Tanusha with the guidance of Ramana Reddy Krishtapati. In his inaugural speech Dr. Sridhar Reddy Korsapati welcomed Sri Karunakar Reddy and all the guests of the evening. Following this, Chair of the Brahmotsavam organizing Committee and ATA regional Coordinator Gurram Srinivasa Reddy extended his thanks to Sri Karunakar Reddy and TTD for taking up the Brahmotsavam celebrations at Dallas and for helping in every aspect to make the event a grand success. Yalamanchili Ramachandra Rao, Joint Secretary of TANA has addressed the gathering and appreciated Sri Karunakar Reddy for the steps taken up by TTD to preserve and perpetuate the Hindu Dharma.

Shyamala Rumalla, President of Telugu Association of North Texas (TANTEX), Gurram Srinivasa Reddy, ATA regional Coordinator and Yalamanchili Ramachandra Rao, Joint Secretary of TANA have jointly felicitated Sri Karunakar Reddy with a Cashmere shawl and a memento. Prof Pudur Jagadeeswaran, founder member of Telugu Sahitya Vedika of TANTEX has rendered a Telugu padyam that he has penned honoring Sri Karunakar Reddy in praise of Dalita Govidnam and Matsya Govindam concepts and presented him a memento. This was followed by a felicitation of Sri Karunakar Reddy by Jaipal Reddy, Chairman of Radio Salaam Namaste, a Dallas-based Indian FM Radio Channel and Manohar Reddy, CEO of Gallop technologies and Touring Talkies. On behalf of Sri Venkateswara University NRI Alumni Association, president Gopi Reddy Chillakuru, Suresh Manduva, Hemant Reddy, Hari Sankarraju and others felicitated Sri Karunakar Reddy. Another guest of honor from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Dr Ramesh Paramsetti presented a Cowboy hat to Sri Karunakar Reddy as a souvenir of Texas.

After the felicitations, Sri Karunakar Reddy addressed the gathering and spoke eloquently on various spiritual and social aspects including the path-breaking steps such as Kalyanamastu, Dalita Govidnam and Matsya Govindam undertaken by TTD. He said that the main objective of Kalyanamastu program is to help the young couple into wedlock with the blessings of Lord Venkateswara, without borrowing money for the marriage.

He also explained that Dalita Govindam and Matsya Govindam are conducted by the TTD to take the God to the doorsteps of those ostracized by the upper castes and thereby prove that God belongs to no particular community or caste. . He told the audience that the TTD has also taken up the construction of ‘Hindu Dharmika Gurukula Pathasalalu’ to impart corporate level education free of cost, along with the values of ‘Hindu dharma’. He explained that TTD’s mission would be to protect and propagate Hindu dharma and to prevent a large number of Hindus from joining other faiths, a trend which has been conspicuous since the last four decades. He said that the phenomenon of conversions in India had its origin in the medieval times and it became a matter of serious concern in recent years. He emphatically assured that TTD would effectively discharge its duty of spreading ‘dharmik’ values and the message of peace and universal brotherhood in Hinduism. After his speech, Sri Karunakar Reddy answered the questions of many Telugu NRIs and cleared their doubts.

Later, he felicitated MVL Prasad, Co-chair of Brahmotsavam organizing Committee for his role in conducting the Brahmotsavam with dedication and commitment. Sri Karunakar Reddy also felicitated Pakeera Reddy of Pasand Indian restaurant for the contribution of his services to the NRI community.